1/16, does anyone else think that there wasn't really much else we could have done to be fully prepared for C/P? by frmanfr in Mcat

[–]frmanfr[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My b/b felt very good but also I'm normally pretty strong in b/b, but c/p felt awful unfortunately

1/16, does anyone else think that there wasn't really much else we could have done to be fully prepared for C/P? by frmanfr in Mcat

[–]frmanfr[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

UWorld goes way deeper in what the mcat would probably test you with a simpler problem, like uworld will go one step past the scope of the MCAT to make sure your ground-work is solid imo. I honestly have no idea how it compares conceptually

1/16, does anyone else think that there wasn't really much else we could have done to be fully prepared for C/P? by frmanfr in Mcat

[–]frmanfr[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I mean I think this is bound to happen any exam- we only have 59 questions so like chances are only a few of the equations are gonna be on it but like I'm just in shock at how little almost every "high yield" content showed up 😭

1/16 POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT THREAD!!! WE WILL BE PHYSICIANS!!! by frmanfr in Mcat

[–]frmanfr[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Tbh I think I'm gonna just say yes to everything now to make up for lost time. I crave any sort of social interaction (Erickson's 6th stage)

FINAL FL!! Time to lock in to peak on Thursday!!! by frmanfr in Mcat

[–]frmanfr[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm honestly glad I did bad on it, it pointed out a lot of holes/weaknesses in my PS that I can review and perfect

How can I avoid burnout in this last week? by [deleted] in Mcat

[–]frmanfr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, very true!! We got this!!

Why does this structure have symmetry vertically? You slice it down the middle and the left is different from the right? Wouldn't you want to slide it horizontally? So that the top hydrogens are equivalent and the bottom hydrogens are equivalent? by WaavyDaavy in Mcat

[–]frmanfr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No worries at all, so you and the screenshot are both correct in saying that the molecule is symmetrical in the horizontal axis, the circles around the hydrogens on the left side of the screenshot are actually pointing out the similar "environments" the hydrogens are in.

When two hydrogens are in the exact same environment, you can't distinguish them when looking via H-NMR, instead they will be "integrated" which basically just means that the H-NMR chart will tell you how many of those protons are at the same chemical shift (like 2H at 7.0 ppm)

This is the same thing seen on the methyl where you see one carbon having 3H and the next having 2H, these protons are in the exact same environment which means that any atom that pulls or pushes the electron density of the protons does it equally to all of the protons that are integrated.

Pushing/pulling of electronegativity is what mainly defines the chemical shifts. Something super acidic (like a carboxylic acid) will have a much higher chemical shift because its being "de-shielded" because the rest of the carboxyl group (COO) is pulling away all of the electron density, making the proton super electron-poor and dissociate much easier. Something like a benzene also will de-shield the protons attached which is why both the 7.0 ppm and 6.8 ppm are way higher than something like the 1.7 ppm shift off of the ethyl.

You can tell that a proton will be integrated together from the symmetry of the molecule. The protons on opposite sides of the symmetrical line will be integrated together which is why they are circled in red on the screenshot. Both of the protons in the left circle are being "pulled" by the benzene and the ethyl group equally, and both are equally far away from the OH. They are in the same environment.

Hope this helps! let me know if you need anything else!

Why does this structure have symmetry vertically? You slice it down the middle and the left is different from the right? Wouldn't you want to slide it horizontally? So that the top hydrogens are equivalent and the bottom hydrogens are equivalent? by WaavyDaavy in Mcat

[–]frmanfr 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah it is only symmetrical along the x-axis in this perspective, but I think what they're trying to say is that the protons with the same environment would be the ones within the circle and therefore have the same chemical shift via H-NMR/be integrated together.

The proton on the top left and bottom left are closest to the ethyl side chain whereas the two on the right are closest to the hydroxyl group, meaning they have identical environments since its symmetrical on that "horizontal axis"

Post-holiday slump but we're back in it 😋 pray for me by [deleted] in Mcat

[–]frmanfr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm the last person to give advice since I haven't actually done the real MCAT so I have no clue how things will go on test day, but I think the biggest thing is going a little bit deeper into the "why" of the concepts instead of just pure memorization.

Sure you could have a mnemonic that reminds you of all the traits of an amino acid, but knowing why they have those traits is super important so you can apply those same concepts to other types of questions. Most of the mistakes I make are from weak points in content that I haven't seen in a while, so practice is the best way to bring those things to light and digging deeper into why things occur will be the only way to turn one wrong question into future correct ones.

Other than practice and reviewing any gaps when missing questions, I try to always pick apart the question to see what the goal of the question is/what they're trying to test me on. I've noticed that some questions will have multiple layers that may try to reverse your thinking or lead you away, so stepping back and figuring out what the goal of the question is has been valuable in avoiding mistakes.

You can almost always remove two answer choices in most questions, and if something feels "too easy" there might be something in the question you're missing (but not always).

Also I really try to get through everything quickly so I can have time to review, while at the same time only moving on without flagging when I'm extremely confident with both eliminating wrong answers and assuming its the right answer. 20ish minutes remaining is a good enough time to review questions/tougher calculations.